ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque neurosurgeon lost his license after 26 patients brought claims against him, adding up to $19 million in settlements. The attorney of one woman said he is the reason her client will never walk again.
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Attorney Lisa Curtis hopes that through shining a light on Dr. Mark Erasmus, people will understand that his mistakes ruined people’s lives. “I mean people have died, they are brain damaged, they are paralyzed,” said Lisa Curtis, Diane Gutierrez’s attorney.
Diane Gutierrez was 50 years old when she walked into Lovelace Hospital for a routine surgery, hoping to solve numbness in her arm, but she woke up to find, she was permanently paralyzed. “Disgusting does not put enough emphasis on how horrible it is the things that Doctor Erasmus has done to patients,” said Curtis.
Gutierrez’s attorney, Lisa Curtis, blames Dr. Mark Erasmus, who she said should have never been in the operating room that day. “It’s unforgivable that they let this guy loose on patients,” said Curtis.
The New Mexico Medical Board revoked his license, saying there’s been over $19 million in settlements for 26 medical malpractice claims since 2001. Nine of those have been filed in court since 2021.
The board determined he was not fit to practice medicine. But his attorney, Bryan Davis, argued his client couldn’t defend himself. “There were multiple of these lawsuits where Dr. Erasmus would not have settled them if he had the option and he would have gone to trial, but the insurance company overruled him because that’s their right to do it,” said Davis.
“If the number of lawsuits that are filed against a physician are a basis and the amount of money that insurance companies pay out are a basis to revoke someone’s license, then there are a lot of physicians in the state that should have their licenses revoked,” said Davis.
Curtis agreed. But instead, argued for stricter guidelines so more doctors she calls “repeat offenders” are included. “It’s a mystery when the medical board decides to get involved. A lot of their proceedings are secret, and they are immune from suit,” said Curtis.
The board did pull Erasmus’ medical license in April, which the district court upheld last month.
“It is so critical that the New Mexico Medical Board do what it did for patients in New Mexico to Mark Erasmus. Now it shouldn’t take 26 claims and this much money and this many patients hurt to take somebody’s license.” said Curtis.
Erasmus is appealing the decision saying while he will never step foot in an OR again, he wants his license to perform other duties.
“Hopefully the court of appeals will see that that’s just simply not competent evidence on which to revoke a physician’s license. Particularly someone like Dr. Erasmus who’s been serving the community in New Mexico for over 40 years,” said Davis.
“You know New Mexico, we deserve to have decent physicians, we don’t have any choice but to trust them and we need the medical board to uphold that,” said Curtis.
“The truth of it is, patients have to trust the doctors…and that means the hospitals and the big corporations that own them have to be responsible for providing quality doctors to their patients. Because they’re the only ones that can know if they’re good doctors or they aren’t,” said Curtis
Board documents show Erasmus claimed he was suffering from medical and personal issues during the time of Gutierrez’s surgery. The 73-year-old has been practicing medicine since the late 1970s.
Gutierrez’s attorney said she is not settling and is taking her case to court. The trial is set for April.
The New Mexico Medical Board sent this statement:
The Medical Practice Act authorizes the Board to take action to protect the public health and safety. In Dr. Erasmus’s case, the Board exercised its broad discretion to investigate. The NMMB website for the history of Dr. Erasmus’s case explains the different allegations brought against Dr. Erasmus in the notice of contemplated action. The medical malpractice payments were the grounds for one allegation. Also, as argued by Dr. Erasmus, the facts of the case and settlement for each and every medical malpractice case are unique and usually involve other health care providers and hospitals. Following New Mexico law, Dr. Erasmus appeared before the Board, after the evidentiary hearing, to make his argument against revocation. Dr. Erasmus was represented by counsel throughout the administrative proceeding, Bryan Davis, Esq. Dr. Erasmus appealed in the 1st judicial district court; Judge Mathew affirmed the revocation by an order filed December 30, 2024. Dr. Erasmus has the opportunity to seek further review in the NM Court of Appeals.
Monique Parks, Interim Executive Director, New Mexico Medical Board